Easter!

Wow did we have a full Easter schedule. Last year the munchkins were only 18 months old and we pretty much just did a small family thing. This year we had photos with the Easter Bunny, the UVMOM (twin club) play group Easter egg hunt, our little family hunt with presents, the Thanksgiving Point Easter Eggstreme, the extended family egg hunt, and finally dying eggs. The kids literally have candy coming out of their ears! This morning they both grabbed their baskets and were ready to go, keep the candy coming! I also hit the after-Easter sales yesterday more for Lowell and I than anything--I didn't buy us any treats ahead of time planning for this, but I did pick up a few more bags for the boys. They haven't finished their Halloween candy yet let alone the Dutch Christmas or Christmas candy, but yes, now they have a HUGE bag of filed eggs to work on. Oh well, they have a sweet tooth like their Mama, we'll just hope they don't have my rotten teeth :). And the reason they have so much candy is that I am pretty tight with it, they get one treat before nap every day and that is pretty much a bribe to get them to nap. It's 3 hours of quiet and it is absolutely worth it! I've been trying to post a video of their week but haven't been successful, if you look me up on facebook, I have it posted there. I have to add some notes on the photos--all the dog shots are because yes, we have a dog Easter egg hunt every year too. We are in the midst of installing a new swingset, so there are some pics of the boys playing on it and it looks pretty unsafe--they are being watched and they are surprisingly cautious. I am happy to say the walls are almost all in now so I can relax about that a little. Oh and before you say it, yep, they're spoiled. 'Nuff said!

Okay, there is lots more to this story but it is going to have to wait until next time . . .

104.6 with seizure-like activity

Well, we spent a good amount of time fighting a nasty virus this weekend. The title today were Carter's symptoms as he waited for 3 hours at the urgent care (and threw up on Daddy!). He was just cooking and shaking uncontrollably so Lowell hurried him down to the after hours and waited. I was at work and worried the whole time. Turns out it was not a seizure (whew!) but febrile tremors, the body's attempt to raise the body temperature even higher by shaking. I personally thought 104.6 (on Ibuprofen) was high enough, but Carter's little body was sure trying to fight whatever was attacking it. They tested him for flu which came back negative so the doc thought it was a viral throat infection. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the flu based on symptoms, the extreme numbers of infections I have seen in the lab, and the test vs. collection method (i.e. a nasal wash gives better results). Whatever he had the darling boy rebounded really well. The fever broke in the morning and he played pretty well that day. A little cranky, but ibuprofen helped (for sore throat). If it was the flu I am just grateful that we all had out flu shot this year. It may not have prevented it but I am sure it lessened the symptoms.

No one should be surprised that Davis popped up with the exact same symptoms last night. We expect this every single cold they get, always one and then the next. We hope at least that it doesn't repeat back to the first child again. One nice thing is that we already knew what Davis had and could skip right to the anti-inflammatories and snuggles and skip the 3 hrs at the doctor's office (though Lowell still got puked on again!). He slept with me this morning for a bit and has been a touch warm and cranky today but overall not too bad. We have certainly seen much worse. One vomit each, not so bad at all. I continue to thank the Lord every day that we can worry about minor things like these and not the major ones. We just found out that one of our old neighbor's daughter has a brain tumor. The specificity has not been given yet but based on the description it sounds like a very scary cancer. We are praying with the family and holding our own boys closer. You really never know, I so pray every day that I can outlive my children. I think that is something a lot of people take for granted, but in the hospital setting I work in, I never do. Children can be taken in a blink of an eye, every moment is precious with these little ones.

We spent some precious moments over the weekend. We went and saw the baby bears from Yellowstone's Big Bear Park. We got to hold a teeny one and take a picture with it. The boys loved it of course and all day after were talking about the baby bear. Then we went to take a picture with the Easter Bunny which I was surprised that the boys were not afraid. They jumped right in his lap and took the picture, happily accepting the Easter egg afterward. I haven't gotten the picture back yet, I hope it is cute. They were taking about that all day too. Little do they know the fun in store for them this weekend! There are many Easter plans in the works with many pictures to be shared. I hope it all goes well. More about that later . . .

Not babies anymore . . .

Where did my little babies go? Who told them they could grow up? I can hardly believe they were ever this small any more, yet it's hard to believe they are almost 2 and a half at the same time. Davis has been having a little bit of a hard time sleeping (teething I think) so I have been holding him a little more and rocking him to sleep which is not typical for my rambunctious boy. Lowell and I were talking about it and how he just needs a little more comforting right now to feel secure and he said that was fine as long as we weren't still holding him when he is 6. I said, I hope I can still hold him then! I would love it if my little boys always let me snuggle them. There will come a day when mom will no longer be cool, no longer the center of the universe, but for now I am soaking up all the hugs and kisses I can get. I had this vision of their birth that just did not happen and I have felt a little jipped ever since. I just envisioned having my kids and holding both of them on my chest as tiny little bugs. They were born via C-Section 6 weeks early and immediately whisked away, one staying at my hospital but with IVs and oxygen and feeding tubes, the other one was sent away to a neighboring hospital on a ventilator and I didn't see him again for 5 days. I did not hold both of my babies at the same time until they were over 2 weeks old. Somehow I have always grieved holding my newborns on my chest. My beautiful boys somehow have sensed this and from time to time recreate this experience. After bath they will both crawl up on my lap and put their heads on my chest while I wrap them up in a blanket. They call it being a "baby". I love when they ask to be treated like a "baby" because it means they want to be snuggled, hugged close, and have their faces tickled. I still miss the first bonding experiences I thought I would have but wasn't in the cards, but I treasure all of the bonding I have had with these guys ever since. I nursed them until they were 18 months old just to hold them close to me. They are getting to be so independent now and it is a mixed blessing. I love that they can feed themselves, follow commands, transport themselves, and especially their ability to play together alone for 15 minutes or more. But I will always hold onto their need for their mommy, the person who is waiting to nurture and snuggle them when they need a minute to calm down and relax.

I count myself blessed every day that they are healthy and well and able to drive me crazy. It is easy for me to write a post like this as I have had to work the past 3 days and have not spent near as much time with the munchkins as I usually do. You could ask Lowell who has been home with them and he would have a much different post. One about dirty diapers, dirty house, dirty rooms, and dirty kids! But by the end of his work week, he'd be thinking the same as I do. There are so many mothers out there who have to worry every moment of the day about their child's illness or other disorder. There are those who desire nothing more than to be a mother but have not been granted this blessing. I have been blessed with 2 beautiful, healthy, active, clever boys and I can't thank the Lord enough every day for the blessing of sharing them with me.

Dirty and Defiant

Well, I am still figuring out this whole blog thing, and this is my second attempt for today, here's hoping! We have been having a fun couple of days. I got some shopping done, picked up some good deals at the Carter's outlet for summer play clothes--I CAN'T wait until they get to wear them! Plus we tested out some trikes as a possible Easter gift, I am still undecided as they can kind of pedal them but not great yet, though they'd probably get it down. I could get a water table instead, but I may just concoct my own using sand toys and emesis basins from work, hmmm . . .The best thing I went shopping for was a new swingset. The one that came with our house is a bit rickety and though it has been good so far we are excited to upgrade as the boys are old enough to really enjoy playground equipment now. I have been shopping around for a while and plan to buy this one this afternoon:

I am probably more excited than I should be about it--Lowell is not nearly as excited as he has to put it together, sorry hon, I'll help!

Today's title reflects major characteristics of my kids and I would imagine other 2 year old boys, dirty and defiant. They are also darling, cuddly, silly, smart, funny, creative, etc. but dirty and defiant seems to fit a lot of what they have been up to lately. For instance the top picture--I had intended to take pictures of the boys in these cute shirts from their grandma but made the mistake of letting them out to play first. Ooops! They found the closest puddle and jumped in. Oh well, still took pictures I guess. I wish I had gotten a picture of my Davis and his mischievious grin Wednesday. I had confiscated their chairs after multiple attempts to use them to gain access to the counter/sink/fridge and I had put the chairs on top of the counter and we went out to play. Davis went in before Carter and when I went to check on him I found him happily sitting there in his chair on the counter. He just smiled at me his typical defiant grin, Ha! Mom I got up here anyway. I was a bit perplexed for a minute as the kitchen table chairs had not been moved, but no he had moved his entire little table over and climbed on that (it was confiscated and added to the pile!). I got a clue into their cranky behavior last night though, I discovered one of Carter's 2 year molars has broken through and the others are on the way for both of them. It actually gives me hope that the teething has been behind some of their meltdowns and hopefully time and a little ibuprofen will see that problem starting to diminish. I hate teething! Won't it ever end!?!

Other than that we have just been busy playing at home, at the gym, and yesterday at the dinosaur museum. We have been visiting with family, playing with Hannah at her house, and are looking forward to seeing a lot of Lowell's family at a wedding reception tomorrow. Is it sad that I am most excited to see the boys all dressed up in some of their new dress clothes? I guess we all have our priorities. . .